The devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have not spared the economies of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC). They recorded a decline of 3.2% on the global index of prices of commodities exported to international markets.
According to the sixth issue of the economic and statistical bulletin of the Bank of Central African States, examining the monetary and financial economic landscape of Cemac in the first quarter of 2020, the global index of prices of commodities exported to international markets fell by 3.2%, compared to the same period in 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic is believed to be the main reason for this widespread drop in commodities in the sub-region.
According to the BEAC, the variation in the prices of basic products between January and March 2020 was marked by a cumulative decline in energy products (-10.3%) and non-energy products, mainly fishery products (-8 %) and to a lesser extent forest products (- 1.5%). On the other hand, the prices of agricultural products exported by the six Cemac countries (Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea and CAR) show an increase of (+ 10.4%), and those of metals and minerals (+ 0.2%).
The contribution of the various products to the composite commodity price index breaks down as follows: energy products (- 6.1 points), forest products (- 0.1 point), agricultural products (3.0 points), fishery products (0.0 point), metals and minerals (0.0 point).
